Dear Fans:
As training camp approaches, I know many of you are anxious to see what this coming season will bring. We'll be better this season, but you're no doubt wondering: How much better? Fair question. And because you are vested partners in our organization and members of our Pack, I feel it's important to share with you how this busy offseason has helped our team.
At this point, I can safely say that the rebuilding of the Timberwolves roster is, at long last, nearly complete.
Well, come to think of it, it hasn’t taken that long.

But I recognize it’s been several seasons since our team contended for a playoff spot and you’d like results now.

Me, too.

Nevertheless, to build a team to win at the highest level, it takes time. Band-Aids and shortcuts typically aren’t lasting in the NBA.

During the last 14 months, we have added several pieces to our ballclub: perimeter shooting, athleticism and length to the roster, and all while maintaining our youth. Just as important, we have done so with an eye toward adding more talent by choosing to operate under the salary cap.

The reality is, we are still lacking a dominant player – our version of Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade or Kevin Durant – and that will remain an item at the top of the To-Do list.

It’s possible this player could emerge from within the roster. Nearly every player on our team has his best days ahead of him. Some could make an All-Star team during their careers and one has already become an impact player on the USA Men’s National Team in this year’s FIBA World Championships. We also have eight players currently on the roster who were selected in the top-seven of their respective drafts: Michael Beasley, Kevin Love, Wes Johnson, Jonny Flynn, Darko Milicic, Corey Brewer, Martell Webster and Ricky Rubio.

The average age of those eight players is 22.

However, if one of our players fails to emerge, we will be prepared to find more talent for our team – and we will seek a singular move rather than a series of moves, as we did these last 14 months.

Hence, the desire to operate under the salary cap.

Just as we took advantage of Miami needing to move Michael Beasley to a "room" team on short notice, I am hopeful other opportunities will come across our desk at three specific periods during the next several months:

• Before the 2011 trading deadline, when teams that are over the tax line and not playing up to their capability seek to move a star player as the first step of a rebuild;

• During the 2011 draft period, when some teams will be seeking to move salary to create room for free agency (although the class of 2011 is not nearly as attractive as the class of 2010); and

• Immediately following the announcement of the new collective bargaining agreement, in whatever form it may take.

It’s been about 14 months since I took the job as President of Basketball Operations. Upon my hiring, I laid out a plan.

First, we would become a running team – it’s what the fans want to watch and the players want to play. Every player we have considered adding to our roster is first evaluated based upon his ability to play an up-tempo style, and then we look for the attributes that we have been lacking: size, shooting and athleticism.

Second, we would in all likelihood become younger – that we might have to take a step backward before moving forward in order to build a team that could compete for a number of years. The decision in particular to trade Randy Foye and Mike Miller for the fifth pick in the 2009 draft no doubt cost us a handful of wins last season, but it also presented us the opportunity to draft Rubio, who doesn’t turn 20 until October and who we expect to have join us in 2011.

Third, we wouldn’t be outworked – that we would instill a culture in basketball operations where management, coaches and players were accountable and expected to work around the clock -- around the year, really -- on reviving this franchise.

Fourth, we would be as transparent as possible in making these changes and explaining the reasoning behind them. Hence, this latest letter.

Without exception, every personnel move that was made this past summer was in keeping with the vision I described in late May 2009. On the night of the draft, we added young, athletic wing players who can run and shoot in Wesley, Martell and Lazar Hayward, to complement Corey Brewer and Wayne Ellington.

Wesley was the Big East Player of the Year last season for Syracuse and was considered the best pure wing in the draft.

Martell, who is only 23 even though this will be his sixth NBA season, has been a starter for the Trail Blazers in the past. Martell often was used as a spot-up 3-point shooter in Portland but we believe he can do more things when asked.

In July, we re-signed 7-foot Darko Milicic and brought aboard 6-10 Nikola Pekovic, both of whom can change ends quickly and play at the fast pace we want. Darko turned 25 this summer and Nikola is 24 – still young, but with the necessary maturity to compete against other big men in this league.

Last season Darko earned $7.5 million in the final year of a four-year deal. He took almost a 50 percent paycut to return to the NBA. He wants to be here and we want him here. There simply aren’t many centers of his size and athleticism who are capable of playing an all-around game.

Telling Darko how important he could be to our future while offering him a contract that represents a major paycut was a delicate dance. Darko understood this, too, and thus was willing to allow us some financial protection in the final year of his deal if things didn’t work out. But let me be clear: we think they will work out.

Later in free agency, we took advantage of our cap room to acquire Beasley for a pair of second-round picks. Michael was the No. 1 prospect in his high school class of 2007 and averaged 26 points and 12 rebounds in his one season of college basketball at Kansas State. He is only 21, with just two years under his belt, and may prove to be our most talented player – perhaps even a 20-and-10 player. He could blossom here under Kurt’s tutelage.

We also felt the time was right to trade Al Jefferson. We will miss Al. Kurt and I want this team to run and flow into a halfcourt offense that features passing and ball movement, with all five players capable of making plays for others. Though capable of playing in this offense, it doesn’t play well to Al’s strengths. Most important, Al would have impacted the playing time of Love, Milicic and Pekovic (and, as it developed, Beasley).

Finally, we added Luke Ridnour during free agency for a variety of reasons. Luke is more of a push-the-pace player than Ramon Sessions and also has several seasons of experience. He did a magnificent job last season both playing and mentoring Brandon Jennings in Milwaukee. I anticipate him challenging for significant playing time but also having the ability to mentor Jonny Flynn and, eventually, Rubio.

We are now a deep team, with quality backups at nearly every position. But we remain young, perhaps even the youngest team in the league. It’s highly unlikely we will challenge for the NBA championship this season, but I believe we now have a collection of talent that could form most of a core nucleus that has its best days ahead.

We will be a better team next season: better because we have more shooting, athleticism and length. Better because our coaches have a year together under their collective belts. And better because we are driven to upgrade our defense, which, frankly, was abysmal last season.

Our players and coaches have been working relentlessly this offseason. All of them. We are committed to being all we can be, as soon as possible, but knowing that our best days are still to come.

Thanks for your patience.

David Kahn
President of Basketball Operations

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The time for talk is over

Okay, not quite. Right after this long-winded letter. Because we do have a lot of good things to talk about.

Fourteen months ago we laid out a plan: First, we would become a running team that plays an exciting up-tempo style of basketball. Second, we would get younger in order to build a team that could improve together and compete for a number of years. Third, we would instill a culture of hard work throughout our organization. Fourth, transparency. We’ll always let you know exactly what’s going on, occasionally via long-winded letters.

That was our plan over a year ago and it hasn’t changed on iota. In the off-season we added young, athletic players Wesley Johnson, Martell Webster and Lazar Hayward. They join Jonny Flynn, Corey Brewer and Wayne Ellington as guys who can get up and down the floor quickly and shoot the ball from the perimeter. We re-signed Darko Milicic and added Nikola Pekovic, giving us two more up-tempo big men to run with one of the best outlet passers in the game, Kevin Love. We took advantage of our cap room to acquire a potential star in Michael Beasley, who was the number one prospect in his high school class of 2007 and averaged 26 points and 12 rebounds in his one college season. And finally, we added Luke Ridnour, a push-the-pace player who becomes the team’s elder statesman at the age of 29.

We now have more shooting, athleticism and depth at every position, which will make us a better team this season. So will we challenge for the NBA championship this year?

Not likely.

Ouch. This honesty thing is a bit painful. But the reality is, we still need that one dominant player.

It’s possible that that player could already be on our roster. We have eight guys who were selected in the top seven picks of their respective drafts, and the average age of those players is 22. So the potential is there for someone to emerge. But in case that doesn’t happen, we’ll continue to manage our salary cap so that we have the flexibility to make that one move that can change a franchise.

We are confident, however, that this team will be exciting to watch. For the first time in years Wolves fans are going to fell like they’re missing out if they aren’t in the arena. So in addition to player development we’re working hard on fan development, starting with variable pricing and Flex Pack ticket packages that let you pick the games and seats that you want. The bottom line for fans is: We’re making it easier than ever for you to be part of our turnaround.

There’s been a lot of talk this off-season. The naysayers certainly have been vocal. And while we can understand a certain amount of skepticism, we know we’ve turned the corner. And we’re anxious to get after that first tipped ball so we can start to prove it.

Enough talk. It’s time to play.

Oh, wait. We forgot to talk about Rubio.

Next time.